Section 3- stages 13 and 14A

A note about Section 3- Burgos to Leon. This section is long, flat and dry and is considered the most difficult. This is the Meseta. Grain fields stretch across endless, shadeless, sections of rolling fields.

According to the guidebook, and others I’ve spoken with, many people skip this section of the pilgrimage because it is “boring” - mile after mile of fields - mostly wheat. I think it is beautiful (so far), but I would not want to do it in the heat!

April 23, 2025 Burgos to Hornillos de Camino. Distance 13.84, weather warm, breezy and sunny- up to 70s. As with any big city, there was a lot of pavement walking for the first 5 miles getting out of Burgos. I left without breakfast because I didn’t realize until I was waiting for breakfast, that today is a regional holiday in Castillo y Leon (NFI). That means breakfast started late and I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to get most of the walk done while it was still cool.

I heard my second cuckoo of the trip, the first being on the way to Atapuerca (which I forgot to journal about).

I walked along lovely fields and saw a lot of windmills, as wel as mountains (in the distance). It was pretty flat with occasional uphills to a new plateau.

There was a nice lunch stop in Tardajos where I was able to get my boots off for an hour and enjoy a drink and a sandwich.

Hornillos del Camino is not much of a town. The church was shut. I was able to find the original site of the pilgrim hospital of Sanctus Spriritus. My hotel was a 10 minute drive out of Hornillos in a pretty village of Isor.

My hotel was basic, but clean. I was able to do a quick tour to see the local churches, which were all shut. The bees were making a home in one, but it seems I later found several churches suffering the same fate. Must be nice and cool for the bees.

Dinner was lovely: Garbanzo bean soup, Pork and Ice cream. Bizarrely, There was a recording of Bob Denver music at dinner.

April 24, 2025 Hornillos to Castrojeriz. Distance 12.69 miles. Weather - 70s and sunny. More of the same scenery, but was lovely because the weather was so nice. Again, thank goodness it’s not the heat of the year as then this would be miserable.

Hontanas was my lunch stop. It is hidden until you cross the last hill. Another nice hour rest with boots off. About 3 miles outside of Castrojeriz are the ruins of the 14th century San Anton Convent (begun in 1093) - dedicated to the treatment of those afflicted by St Anthony’s Fire. This affliction is due to ingestion of contaminated flour. If memory serves - this was the basis for afflictions contributing to being labeled a witch (although rye flour may have been the culprit).

Castrojeriz is visible from about 2 miles away - accentuated by the castle and Santa Maria del Manzano Church (see more on both in tomorrow’s post). It is a very long town and I didn’t think i would ever get to my hotel.

This was labeled “Superior”, but I would call it standard; although it is a big room and it does have an elevator. After a quick rest and laundry, I went to the interpretive center. This was underwhelming and was housed in the Church of San Juan de los Cabelleros, along with the Tourist Information Office. The fellow manning the office said he “only knew” about Castrojeriz (I was asking about bus options if I wanted to shorten my walk to Fromista) and promptly told me all the churches I wanted to see were closed. I could see the interpretive center and walk up to the Castle (see tomorrow’s post). Turns out the guy didn’t even know about Castrojeriz.

Dinner was quite good - Fava bean soup and chicken. The chicken was “on the bone” which is always a challenge for me, but it was so tender it fell right off the bone and was delicious.

April 25, 2025 - Rest day in Castrojeriz. Distance - 5 miles. Weather - 70s and sunny - thunderstorms predicted for evening.

Breakfast - awful - no meat. (No photo because I was so underwhelmed). By accident I raided french group’s lunch table and won a dirty look from a french lady (I didn’t realize that’s what it was, I thought it was the breakfast buffet).

First stop was the Castle and the hike up castle hill. The path was quite narrow and not well maintained. I was in my hiking sandals and with only 1 pole, so I was rather lucky I didn’t fall down and do damage. Along the way I saw a herd of sheep and a shepherd which was a nice distraction. I saw them on the way down too - I took the road down - longer, but safer.

The weather was beautiful and I was able to see both the route I took yesterday and the route I will take tomorrow. The one positive note is that the uphill to the plateau tomorrow is at the same level as Castle Hill, but a longer distance, so I feel comfortable that I will be able to make that.

The Castrojeriz Castle itself sits on a hill that is 900 meters high and is 1000 years old. It’s original foundation has been built and expanded several times over the years and has been used as a strategic stronghold for the area. It’s seen its share of battles and intrigue, including the imprisonment and murder of the Queen of Aragon. It saw much damage from the big 1755 earthquake, but is still standing.

Those fit enough to get up the hill can explore up several floors. I thought I was alone until I got to the very top and met Pete, who was meditating in the quiet.

Pete is a poet from San Diego who is on his 5th Pilgrimage along The Way. According to him, I am a “touregrino”, instead of peregrino because I: use a luggage service, have a guidebook and have all my accommodation pre-booked. I think he was a bit envious. He said that pilgrimages must be painful, but I’m not sure why.

One other thing that is a bit different here is the use of the Cross of Tau. The Tau cross is shaped like a T and has been in use for 1000 years. I’ve googled, but can’t quite figure out exactly why it’s used in this area.

When I came down the hill from the Castle I ended up at the Church of Santo Domingo which is a church museum known for its tapestries.  According to the guy at tourist information it should have been closed, but I was very happy to see it open.

I decided to walk to the church - Santa Maria del Manzano - a church, according to tourist information, that shouldn’t be open until July.  It was open and I was excited because, not only does it have a beautiful tableau, it is home to a statue of the Madonna/child carved in the 13th century.  I enjoyed my visit.

Dinner was next to 2 friends traveling together - Nick and a lady from Ireland whose name I can’t pronounce or remember.  It was a long dinner talking politics.  Dinner was better than last night - I had two appetizers:  the bean soup (as last night) and pasta salad.  Then I had natural yogurt with honey for dessert and a beer to drink.

The weather has definitely changed and I’m very happy not to be outside in the cold and wet.